


Mild understatement

by kurosuisen



Series: The light that never goes out [7]
Category: Dunkirk (2017)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Pilot Husbands, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 03:29:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15940877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurosuisen/pseuds/kurosuisen
Summary: Farrier had always wanted to have a dog and he had a soft spot for them. He shared his thoughts with Collins once, when they were still in army, but they never talked about it later.





	Mild understatement

Farrier stopped by the entrance of the hospital, slightly confused at the sight of a dog lying on the right side of the door. He had been visiting the facility for the third day in row and the dog was also present there the other days.

On the first day Farrier didn’t pay much attention to it. He was in pain after a little accident at the workshop, so the only thing he remembered was just the presence of the dog. He had an accident at work, an old engine fell on him while he was in the storage, looking for parts. It hit his head and cut through his eyebrow so there was no way to ignore it. He had felt dizziness as soon as he left the storage. There were three stitches involved and the diagnose was clear: concussion. He was conscious the whole time and it didn’t seem serious, but the doctor decided to keep him in the hospital for a night.

No one in the workshop thought about calling Collins, so Farrier asked a head nurse who checked on him, to contact him, with the excuse that they were set up for a drink that night and he didn’t want him to worry. Collins turned up in the hospital pale as ghost. He didn’t seem convinced when Farrier was explaining to him that he was perfectly fine and the doctor was exaggerating. A week long leave didn’t seem like an exaggerate for Collins.

The next day the doctor decided that the concussion was mild, Farrier didn’t need to stay in the facility for longer time. Collins came to the hospital before his classes to make sure that Farrier would be back home safely. The older man actually stopped by in the entrance for a moment, wondering why the dog was waiting there, but Collins hurried him up, saying that he would be late for school.

For the third time, Farrier came to the hospital a day later, by himself because Collins’ classes was starting early in the morning. The man forgot to take the leave papers when he was leaving the day before. He was alone so he could stop to take a look at the dog waiting by the entrance. It was a big dog, German Shepherd, and he seemed quite young. Someone left a bowl of water for him and there were some leftovers of food given to him. Farrier approached the dog and leaned down, watching him closely before he lifted his hand to his nose.

“Hey, buddy… What are you doing here?” he asked softly, careful not to touch the dog unless he seems to be okay with that. It took a moment, but the dog accepted his presence and Farrier was rewarded when he decided to lick his hand. The man smiled and petted him gently. “Good boy… Are you waiting for someone?” he asked, a little worried. The dog had a collar, so it seemed that he had an owner, but it didn’t seem likely to leave the dog in front of the hospital if his owner had something to do there.

Farrier slowly checked whether there was some tag at the collar, but had nothing like that so he sighed quietly, disappointed. He slowly put the bowl of water closer to the dog, watching him sympathetically. The weather was terrible that day, the temperatures were high and the dog was laying there, at the entrance, in full sunlight. Farrier was relieved to see the dog drinking.

He didn’t need to come to the hospital the next day, but it didn’t stop him from driving all the way there to see if the dog was still there. It was not like he had any other place to be since he got week off and Collins had his classes so he wasn’t around until afternoon.

Just as he had expected, the dog was still laying by the entrance of the hospital. He seemed to wait for someone, patiently. Every time Farrier visited a place, it was at different time of a day, and still the dog was present, which only convinced the man that he was right with his assumptions.

Farrier sat on the stairs, with his side turned to a dog and gently brushed his head, wondering what had happened that no one cared to take him home. It was long after war and pets were again present in the people’s life, so he couldn’t understand why anyone would just turn their back to any animal.

“You hungry, mate?” he asked and took out a paper bag from his backpack to put a fresh portion of meat in front of the dog. The dog was looking at him for a few seconds and turned his head, not interested in eating. Farrier sighed and leaned his back on the wall. The dog didn’t mind being petted, so he just sat beside him, brushing his soft fur gently.

Farrier had always wanted to have a dog and had always had a soft spot for them. He had one back when he was a kid.

The dog was some crossbred, had a features of German Shepherd and Bernese. Farrier called him Triton, because back then he was deeply fascinated in Greek mythology. His father and he found the dog chained to a tree close to the beach where they were spending their holidays. Triton was terrified of cars back then, so the journey back home took ages. They had to stop dozens of time, but later the dog spent eight years with them and became Farrier’s faithful companion. He thought of getting another one, but then the war happened.

He shared his thoughts with Collins once, when they were still in army, but the topic never came back. After the war things got complicated in general, because they started making a life together and they couldn’t afford having a dog in the flat they rented. The owner of the building didn’t agree to any pets.

Farrier knew that dogs weren’t Collins’ favourite animals, since he usually kept his distance when they met some neighbours’ dogs outside. That was why when they moved out to a new place, finally theirs, slightly bigger, in a different neighbourhood, Farrier hadn’t bothered to ask about dog. There were many other things on their mind.

Until that day when the dog waiting on hospital stairs got Farrier’s attention.

The man had decided to ask about the dog and find out why he was left there and why no one bothered to get him home. He sat by the dog for some time and already asked two members of hospital personnel, but none of them seemed to know anything. It was already afternoon and Farrier was supposed to head back home, when he spotted the head nurse, Ms. Cole, who probably knew everything that was going on in the hospital. She seemed to be well-informed about every single event, every single rumour and every single new patient. He already had to introduce Collins as his army colleague, because they met her on the first day they came to the hospital and she was the one he asked to call the younger man to inform him about Farrier’s condition.

“Excuse me, Ms. Cole” he addressed the nurse and stood up, bowing politely at her.

The woman stopped at the sound of her last name and turned around to give him a questioning look. She recognised him immediately and smiled.

“Mister Farrier, you should rest at home, enjoying your leave from work, instead of sitting here” she scolded him, but kept her tone light.

“A man can’t really focus when he’s not allowed to work, Madame” he replied and she laughed, amused. “Do you happen to know if the dog here is waiting for someone specific or was he abandoned by someone?”

The nurse squinted her eyes and shifted her gaze to the dog.

“Oh, dear boy…” she sighed heavily. “This dog has been hanging around here for two weeks already. We’ve tried to contact the municipal police, but all they say is that it’s not their business as long as the owner is alive.”

“So was he abandoned?”

“No, Mister Farrier” the nurse shook her head and gave the dog a gentle pat in the head. “It’s been almost two weeks since the owner has been comatose. Serious car crash, the doctors give him no chance of waking up. He’s an ex-military boy, like you are. No relatives alive left to take care of that poor dog.”

The amount of emotional resonance of her words left Farrier a little speechless. He was not sure whether he wanted to know that. The fact that the dog was left to himself was bad enough itself, even without detail of the owner’s critical condition.

“So no one’s taking care of the dog as long as the man is alive?” he asked, disappointed, even though the answer was clear. Ms. Cole nodded at his question and apologized him, saying she was hurrying up for a train. He should also be hurry, but instead he spent another fifteen minutes by the dog side.

*

Days off? That was unusual for Farrier. The man never missed any working day at the plane workshop if there wasn’t important reason behind it. He used to take days off on Christmas, on his mother’s birthday and when they were in the middle of moving out.

Farrier missed flying so he focused on his work that let him be around planes. Collins didn’t miss flying as much as he did – during war he spent enough time in the air. He got used to being on the ground, but he had to agree that a few flight he had after the war helped him get through his nightmares.

Work was a comfortable constant for Farrier. So when he got his obligatory leave, Collins started to watch him closely, ready to act at any sign of mood swings. To Collins’ relief, days passed, and he didn’t notice any of this. What he noticed, was that Farrier started doing more around the house – the things that was left undone after they moved in. When he came back home to find Farrier repairing the broken socket, he decided to call off all the extra classes that he had. Because the earlier he was home, the less harm could his lover do to himself out of boredom.

“As much as I appreciate having a breakfast ready, aren’t you supposed to rest?” asked Collins one day, entering the kitchen, still half-asleep. There room smelled like pancakes and coffee and his partner was already in the middle of eating his breakfast while the other plate was covered not to get cold. Farrier was supposed to do nothing and yet it was another day when he woke up at his usual time. “When was the last time you took the day off? Why don’t you use your leave to actually relax? Knowing you, the next time you’re having a leave is Christmas.”

Farrier blinked at him, slowly and took the coffee pot to fill the blonde’s favourite cup with a hot, aromatic liquid. He added some cream and two spoon of sugar, putting it right beside the plate on Collins’ side of the table.

“Mum’s birthday” he replied slowly, watching Collins lifting a spoon. He grasped his hand before the younger man had a chance to add more sugar. “It’s already sweet, love” he said softly and kissed his hand, making Collins blush. “You’re looking, but not watching.”

“Because I’m busy wondering if you’re not into tiling the bathroom floor.”

 Farrier laughed at deadly serious look he got from his lover.

“You know that I can’t stand doing nothing. I can’t just lay in bed and stare at the ceiling.”

“I would slap you in your head if you weren’t concussed” instead, Collins gently brushed his hair. The stitches were healing nicely, but Farrier seemed a little more distracted these days. “Since you have days off and you’re far from resting, why don’t we go somewhere together?”

“Huh?” Farrier looked up, surprised.

“It’s not like we’re going hiking. A short trip will keep you from making repairs that can be done later” Collins sighed at the lack of enthusiasm in Farrier’s eyes. He lifted a cup of coffee to his face and closed his eyes, smelling the intense aroma. Farrier used to laugh at him, saying that there’s no aroma left with the amount of milk he added. “The coast? Dorset maybe? It looks marvellous on the photos. It’s not a holiday season, so having a room for a night won’t be troublesome.”

“Have you seen the forecast? It will be raining for the whole week” Farrier shrugged at the idea and looked down to slice his pancake. Collins knew this look. Farrier had something on his mind and was avoiding giving him the answer, so Collins kept starring at him instead of eating his own breakfast. He just asked him to go to the coast so the reaction was unusual.

“Hugh? It’s seaside I’m talking about. It’s not like weather has ever stopped you” he pointed out and took a slice of his breakfast, washing it down with a coffee. “You just woke up god knows when and made bloody pancakes, and you only make pancakes on Saturday, so it’s not like you’re not fit to travel. So…?”

“I have appointment on Monday” said Farrier, drinking his tea to the end. He stood up and stopped at the sink, rolling up his sleeve to start washing the dishes.

The blonde sighed and finished his meal to place an empty plate into the sink. He stopped right behind Farrier, clearing his throat quietly to get the man’s attention. His partner tensed a little and slowly turned around to face him.

“We’ll be back by Monday, love” Collins smiled and brushed the man’s temple with his fingers. “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore” the blonde nodded at his words and gave him a short kiss in the temple. Farrier hissed quietly. It hurt, as it turned out. Farrier made an inarticulate noise at Collins’ discovery.

“It doesn’t hurt so you decided to wake up at seven and make breakfast for the whole army” he said, lifting the other’s chin so that Farrier would meet his gaze. “What keeps you here now?”

 “Um… A dog” Farrier said out of sudden, making the other one open his eyes, surprised with unexpected question.

“A dog?” Collins repeated after him, confused. He looked around, somehow expecting it would turn out that Farrier was hiding a dog from him. “What do you mean?”

“Just… Just a dog” the blonde nodded slowly, waiting for the further explanation. “Have you ever considered us having a dog?”

“Having a dog?” Collins repeated after him and frowned. “I thought you had something bad on your mind and here you are asking me about a dog” relieved, he placed his hands on Farrier’s hips and leaned down to get a kiss. “I haven’t been thinking of having a dog. But you have, haven’t you?”

“Yes. Recently I have been thinking of this more often than usual” one look at Farrier made Collins realise that the man must have thought that it was bad idea to introduce him to it. “It would be nice to have one.”

Collins smiled. He couldn’t recall if they’d ever had the talk about having any pet after they got to live together. He would remember if they had. But he remembered quite well the day at the RAF base when Farrier took him out to show him puppies, excited about having one in the future. Collins remembered himself being quite unsure of what to do when one of the dogs approached him, happily licking his face when he finally lifted it. But Farrier looked so happy to have all those dogs around. He told him that he would come back to the place after the war was over and take one puppy for himself. And later he also told him about the dog he had when he was a kid. They never went back to that place, somehow forgetting about this little wish that Farrier made back then.

 “You’re not very comfortable around dogs, so I didn’t know whether it was a good idea to bring up the topic” he confessed. “I know how the dogs are and I don’t want to press you into anything.”

The blonde fell silent for another moment. What Farrier had told him wasn’t a big surprise. The man was extraordinarily respectful toward what he felt and he would never do anything against his will.

“I appreciate your consideration, but… It’s not exactly that I feel uncomfortable around dogs” he explained and paused for a second because the clock on the wall got his attention. He was late. For the third time this week. “Listen, I’ll have to go in a moment, because I’m late” Farrier followed his gaze and realised that Collins was late and he should had already be gone for at least ten minutes. “I have to go, but we will definitely have this conversation later. Because it’s not like I’m uncomfortable around dogs. I just… I don’t like when they’re overenthusiastic towards me. You got it? In the meantime, I will think of it by myself. And then we’ll get through with this topic together, right?”

Farrier wanted to nod, but Collins gave him no chance to do this – he kissed him once and then two times more and grasped a bag with his lunch, leaving the house in rush.

*

Farrier kept coming to the hospital for the next couple of days of his leave. He was supposed to rest, as the doctor said, but decided that spending some time there will not disturb his recovery. He would consider staying at home if he’d feel bad, but he was fine. Collins knew nothing of this little trip because Farrier was smart enough to be home before his classes were finished.

It took Farrier a few days to actually gain some trust from the dog. At first, the dog seemed to barely note his presence. But after his few visits, the dog’s eyes seemed to light up at him which made the ex-pilot incredibly happy.

Ms. Cole would keep him updated about the owner’s condition even though she wasn’t supposed to do so – for days nothing had seemed to change for the man in coma. But slowly things had changed for the dog waiting for him. Farrier managed to get him up on a short walks around the hospital building. As the day passed, he gained more and more trust from him.

The man kept visiting the place even after his leave finished. He stopped at his way from work to give the dog some food and have a short walk. The first time Farrier managed to walk the dog to a nearby park and make him fetch the tennis ball, he felt extremely proud and happy. 

*

Being busy with classes kept Collins from noticing that his lover left home for a few hours. He was appreciating the idea that Farrier stopped looking for things to repair around the house.

Just like Collins promised, he took some time considering his lover’s idea of having a dog. They had a new place, more spacious one and close to the forest where they used to jog to keep them in shape, so they didn’t need to worry about not having enough space for a dog. What was worrying Collins more, was the fact that having a dog was actually something new to him. He never had one, so he knew nothing about taking care of it. So he actually started to gain his knowledge from books – reading at the breaks between classes. He promised to think of it with Farrier, but first he needed to make sure that the two of them was capable of taking care of the dog.

A few days later he surprised the other man reading a book about dogs instead of morning newspaper. Farrier didn’t comment it, only smiled. And the same evening Collins actually had found the book on the bedside cabinet on his lover’s side of the bed.

The blonde thought that the book would help him decide whether it would be better to get a male dog or female one, but he couldn’t decide on his own. He wondered which race would be better or whether they should take care of some mongrel. He considered buying a puppy as well as adopting an adult dog from the shelter. He even asked around about vets and decided that they would never visit the one who had his consulting-room only fifteen minutes from their place.

He started to pay more attention to the dogs he passed at his way to work. There was this dachshund he used to see every time he was waiting for the bus in the morning – it always barked at Collins and once, when he was biking to work, the dog got off the leash and ran after him. There was also a beautiful border collie owned by one of his fellow teachers. He was brave enough to ask if he could pet it once and now it was regular thing when he met Ms. Davis. He also made a mistake of giving their neighbour’s dog a snack, so every time the dog noticed him, it was overjoyed and jumped at him, doing exactly what he hated – licking his whole face happily. Collins appreciated the fondness, but would prefer not to have another shirt decorated with muddy traces of paws after a particularly rainy afternoon.

Since Farrier actually wanted a dog and it seemed that the decision whether they would have one or not was on Collins, so out of curiosity he decided to call the man who used to sell dogs to the air force base they belonged to. Unfortunately, it turned out that the man no longer had any puppies around.

*

Middle of November wasn’t the best time to go by the seaside. It was raining a lot, days were cold and the nights were even worse, according to Collins. On the other hand, Farrier didn’t mind at all. He could actually live on the coastal area for the whole year.

Collins was sitting at the bench, trying to figure out the new camera their bought just a few days before the trip. He put the manual on his right side, covering it with a bag, so that the wind wouldn’t blow it away. Farrier accidentally opened the cover and exposed the film to the sun so it seemed that at least last shots were lost.

The blonde smiled when he caught a glimpse of Farrier running in his direction. A happy barking was heard seconds later when a ball was thrown in his direction. Gandalf, called after the character of the first book that he chew up after they got him home, ran straight at Collins. The man lifted the camera and took a photo of the two of them – Farrier was flushed and had his jacket undone while the dog looked as if he wasn’t tired at all.

Collins barely managed to put the camera away to the bag before the dog left the ball at his feet and jumped at him, happily licking his face, putting his wet paws at his arms. If Collins wasn’t lucky to sit on the bench, he would surely fall back to the ground and it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Gandalf… Stop it…” the blonde gasped, turning his face to avoid the biggest sign of the dog’s affection. It was futile effort. “Get him off me…” he barely whispered and made a face, when he felt the wet trace on his lips. “Stop, it’s gross…!”

Instead of helping him, Farrier started laughing and grasped the camera from the bag to take a few shots. Even though the older man was the one who found the dog by the hospital, Gandalf seemed to love the two of them equally. And didn’t mind at all when Collins tried to push him away, trying to tame his enthusiasm.

“Gandalf, enough… Give him a break, buddy” he patted the dog in the head and leaned down to grasp a wet tennis ball. He showed it to Gandalf, tossed the ball around a few times to get his attention and when the dog got off Collin’s knees, Farrier gave him a snack. “Thank you, big guy.”

“Give me a hanky” blurted out Collins, visibly disgusted by having his face all wet. Farrier grinned at him and sat beside the blonde, handing him a handkerchief. “And you…” Collins lifted his hand to wag his finger at the dog. “You’re not taking a nap on me today.”

“Yeah, right” Farrier laughed and leaned to him to brush his temple.

“Don’t kiss me, I was licked by a dog just a moment ago” he muttered, placing his hand on Farrier’s face to move him away.

“Oh, I don’t mind” the older man shrugged and laughed even louder. “He licks my face too.”

“You’re both gross” he said, rolling his eyes at his lover, but smiled when Farrier ignored the remark and kissed his temple again.

When Collins decided to face his partner and tell him that he had nothing against the two of them having a dog, he didn’t expect that Farrier already had one in mind. As it turned out, the previous owner of Gandalf died and the dog kept staying at the hospital, not letting anyone get closer. Beside Farrier, who continued to visit the place after his leave was over.

The blonde told him that he was ready to have a dog and it took Farrier exactly two seconds to grasp him by the hand and lead him to the door. They barely managed to put his shoes on before the older man was heading to the car and driving straight to the hospital. He explained himself while driving and Collins was just looking at him, stunned. He agreed, because what else could he do, seeing the look that Farrier was giving him and seeing the abandoned dog waiting for his owner to come back for him.

It wasn’t difficult for the dog to get use to the two of them, but getting used to the new place was troublesome. More often than not Farrier let the dog walk down the street where the hospital was or lead him to the place where his late owner was supposed to live.

No one knew the old name of a dog, so they named him Gandalf and it took some time before he got used to it. Collins got used to wake up earlier to walk the dog before work, while Farrier walked him afternoon. They let him to jog with them in the nearby forest and they took him everywhere they went together. Taking Gandalf for a weekend to Farrier’s mother turned out a great idea, because he had the whole garden for himself. The older man had troubles at getting him to the house when it started raining.

“Come on, you didn’t allow him to jump on you so at least give him a snack” said Farrier, bowing at the dog. Gandalf was looking at Collins expectantly. He used to jump at the blonde man a lot, not realising that he was no longer a puppy.

“I can’t give him snacks all the time. He will get fat” Collins gave his partner a disapproving look, but took one dog snack from the box and gave it to the dog, just to laugh when it disappeared in two seconds.

“I give you snacks all the time and you’re still gorgeously fit” Farrier grinned at his lover when Collins poked him with his elbow.

“It’s not true” to Gandalf’s delight the blonde reached for another snack and gave it to the dog. Farrier took the opportunity and took another photo, this time catching a small, but characteristic smile at Collins’ face.

Another snack didn’t make Gandalf any less enthusiastic, because he already climbed his two paws on the blonde’s lap.

“No, Gandalf, don’t…” he made an inarticulate unhappy noise as the dog leaned to him.

“Gandalf, fetch!” Farrier decided to save him, throwing the ball far ahead. Collins sighed, relieved. “Maybe you should get you a cat.”

“Huh? A cat?” the blonde looked at him as if he was crazy.

“A cat. Cute little purring thing. A while ago, when we visited Wilson, you didn’t mind when the cat rubbed all over your face” by the time he finished speaking, Gandalf was back so Collins grasped a ball and decided to throw the ball himself, as far as he could, so that the dog would see that Farrier wasn’t the only one playing with him. The older man smiled, taking another photo of him.

“You’ll waste the whole film on me” Collins scolded him, but the man only shrugged at the remark.

“It’s not a waste to take photo of your pretty face, Fin” Farrier smile brightly seeing his lover sudden blush. He stood up when the dog came back again. “I wish I had as much energy as you do, buddy” he laughed and gave him a pat.

Farrier nodded at his partner to leave the bench and follow him through the stairs leaded from the beach. Gandalf was only a few steps before them, still excited, watching Farrier tossing the ball between his hands.

“I thought you dislike cats” Collins gave the other one a puzzled look.

“I don’t. I just dislike the sound of scratching they make” Farrier laughed and throw the ball up the stairs.

“How could you possibly know? Have you ever had a cat?” Collins frowned, confused, and used a moment to brush the man’s hand with his fingers. He smiled at the feeling of Farrier’s fingers closing around his hand. Even though it seemed that there was no one around, it didn’t last long. “You’ve never told me that.”

“We had a cat when I was a kid. For years. But it was my mum’s cat. I had my childhood adventures with my dog, so that’s why I’ve never mentioned a cat. There are still scratches on the door of my room from the times she tried to get inside, but she would never did so, because she didn’t like the dog. I’ll show you next time we’re there” he got quiet to show Gandalf to wait for them at the top of the stairs. “So… Would you want a cat?”

“And what Gandalf would do about it? He’s a dog, you know” Collins reminded him, frowning a little at the idea.

“He’ll get used to it. Our neighbours let their cat outside and Gandalf doesn’t react. I saw the cat climbing on top of his back and Gandalf didn’t mind.”

The blonde looked at him, not sure whether he could believe that. He didn’t even know that their neighbours had a cat.

“What about you and scratching thing?”

“I’ll get used to it. I’ll make some cat friendly furniture” Farrier promised. “Something to scratch… I’ll even make some space on the bookshelves, so that the cat could nap there…”

“I appreciate the ideas, but… Where is Gandalf?” Collins interrupted him, looking around, alarmed.

“Huh…?” Farrier followed his gaze to see that the dog that leaded them upstairs, wasn’t around anymore. It took him a few seconds to spot the dog. “Well… I think he just went after a cat.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's more than a year since this pilot duo is in our hearts! So here's my little piece of writing to remind you that those two haven't been forgotten :)  
> Thanks go to [yeezwx](/users/yeezwx/profile) \- the comments made me explore the idea I've mentioned in my previous work. Another thanks go to my lovely and reliable beta [thrandymajestic](/users/thrandymajestic)
> 
> Comments are much appreciated :) If you see any grammar error or mispelling, I'll be happy to hear from you :)


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